Letting Go
by RosyShimmer
Summary: Although he and Haruhi have been dating, Tamaki begins to suspect she and Kyouya have fallen in love with each other. KyouHaru
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Ouran High School Host Club. Never did. Never will. (My own personal angst . . .)

Why didn't I see it before? The look in his eyes, as he reached to help her up? She had been walking next to Kyouya, while I entertained my guests on the couch. They had been discussing plans for the next club outing when Honey slammed into her and she fell backward onto the floor. I couldn't make it in time. Instead, as Honey rolled off of her and ran towards Mori, Kyouya rolled his eyes and reached down, grasped her hands with his and pulled her up. He must have pulled just a little too strongly, because for a second their bodies were pressed against each other. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her petite frame as she steadied herself on her feet. She looked up at him with gratitude as she mouthed her thanks. He looked down at her with the most tender smile I have ever seen on my best friend.

_When had this happened,_ I thought? When had my best friend fallen in love with my girlfriend? Oh dear God, was my girlfriend in love with my best friend?

I looked at her face again. Having spent so much time with her over the last year, you'd think I'd be able to tell, but with Haruhi it was difficult. Admittedly, the other members of the club seemed to always know what she was feeling. For me, she was a mystery and I loved it. Every day was a bright, new adventure with her.

Haruhi could be a little dense when it came to the emotions of others. So she might not even be aware of Kyouya's feelings toward her. But, that wouldn't really affect her feelings toward him, would it?

I looked harder, needing to decipher her facial expressions, trying to see past my love for her to what she really felt. They both looked down, moving away from each other slightly. He looked away, off to the left somewhere, an uncharacteristic blush coloring his cheeks as he reached to adjust his glasses. At that moment, Haruhi turned to look back at him. _Oh no, there it is,_ I thought. Just the briefest of glances, just a mere second when she thought no one was looking, a look so filled with confusion and longing that my heart broke just to witness it. It was over in a flash. She looked down, brushing herself off and biting her lip. Then, turning to look at me, she assumed one of her bright cheerful smiles that I found so totally adorable.

"Tamaki!" She cried. I ran over to her, holding her close to my chest.

"My dear, are you alright?" I asked.

"Of course, silly. It was just a little fall. Happens all the time. See, look," she said, turning around for me, "No bruises this time!" I laughed. What could I do? She was doing her best to please me. Still, I began to wonder as I hugged her once more and began to walk back over toward the other ladies, when had my two favorite people in the universe fallen in love with each other?

A/N: I hope you enjoy my little prologue and I hope you continue to enjoy my story as it unravels.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for the unforgivable delay in this chapter. I hope i will be better about updates. Sometimes, though, you have to wait for inspiration to hit you. It finally did. I hope you like it. ~ Rosy

As Kyouya exited his limousine on the first day of the new school year, being sure to adjust his glasses so that the light reflected off them just right, he surreptitiously surveyed the student body while also posing just enough to impress upon the first years and transfers and remind all the rest that he was an important person and not to be trifled with. Satisfied that he had made his point, he reached back into the car to retrieve his bag, and just as he was shutting the door, his extremely hyper, always dramatic best friend barreled into him, destroying all the benefits of his carefully timed and choreographed entrance.

"Kyouya!" Tamaki exclaimed as he embraced Kyouya in a rib-crushing hug, "It's been so long!" As much as he was able to, considering a few more seconds of this hug could render him unconscious, Kyouya sighed, before he utilized all his strength to push is friend off of him.

"Tamaki, we saw each other yesterday. In fact, we've spent nearly every day of the last three weeks together." Kyouya reached down to pick up his bag that had gotten knocked out of his hands during his friend's suffocating greeting.

"I know but last night I was so lonely without you!" He heard the plaintive sighs of several of the female students in the immediate area. Still looking intently at his friend, Kyouya failed to notice the petite brunette teenager also reaching down to grab the bag, until their hands touched. He looked down and, realizing Haruhi was there, he gave her a gentle smile. She briefly looked up at her boyfriend and his best friend, before rolling her eyes just enough for Kyouya to see. Barely suppressing the urge to laugh out loud at her gesture, he quickly secured his bag and stood back up, idly brushing his hand where they had touched.

As Haruhi stood up as well, Kyouya was amused but not surprised to discover that she'd decided to continue wearing the boy's uniform. She was not a girl given to frills, and the Ouran girl's uniform was all frills, and though it wasn't exactly allowed by the most strict interpretation of the rule book, between Haruhi's genetic ability to understand and argue the law and the fact that her boyfriend was the headmaster's son, she had been given special permission to wear the male uniform. Not that it mattered, really. After the ball, most if not all of the student body at Ouran now knew she was a girl.

Kyouya supposed it meant that she would no longer continue to entertain with them in the host club. He felt saddened by that thought, but suppressed it beneath his mask of calm diffidence. He then took a calming breath, before turning towards his friend.

"Tamaki, first of all, I wish you wouldn't say things like that. They tend to give people the wrong idea. They have no idea the Host Club vacationed together over the break. Second of all, as this is the first day of the new school year, I don't wish to be late, so if you don't mind I would like to go to class now."

"All right," Tamaki said, before pausing for dramatic effect. "I suppose if my best friend insists, I must be off . . ." He turned to Haruhi and knelt before her. "My dear, will you be alright without me for the whole day?" Haruhi laughed before dragging him up and pushing him off.

"I'll be fine. Go learn something. I assume people learn in this school?" At that Kyouya did laugh out loud, earning a rather surprised look from his friend. Checking himself, he composed his features and turned towards Tamaki, shrugging his shoulders before they started making their way to class. However, they hadn't gone more than two feet, before they found their way blocked by a gaggle of giggling schoolgirls. Kyouya looked over just in time to see his friend begin to assume his charming host smile before his expression quickly turned to one of dejection, as the girls proceeded to ignore both boys, instead heading to intercept Haruhi. Intrigued by this development, Kyouya followed the girls and watched as they attempted to gain the attention of his cross-dressing friend.

"Haruhi-san!" One of them called out (Saitou Nanae, if he remembered correctly, daughter of an elite publishing mogul). Haruhi turned around.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Ano . . ." The lead girl continued, as several of the others pushed her forward. She giggled. "We were wondering . . ." She giggled again, before another of the girls (Kato Hana, daughter of one of the Prime Minister's top advisors) stepped forward.

"Haruhi-san, we were wondering if you were planning to continue with the host club this year." Haruhi looked taken aback and Kyouya suddenly became very interested in their conversation.

"You do know I'm a girl, right?" The gaggle giggled some more, before leaving it to Hana to speak to them again.

"We know. It's just, we enjoyed spending time with you."

"Really?" Haruhi seemed surprised, but Kyouya was not. She had had a very respectable group of regular customers that had seemed to thoroughly enjoy her company. "I thought you guys might be mad at me for deceiving you for so long and wouldn't want me around." That did surprise him a little. He never thought Haruhi cared overmuch for other's opinions.

"Truthfully? We think it's kind of cool," Hana proclaimed.

"Yeah, we think you are really brave for putting yourself out there like that." Nanae, added, finally able to put together a coherent sentence. This was followed by a resounding chorus of "Please!" and "Pretty Please" from Haruhi's adoring fans. Haruhi turned towards Kyouya and Tamaki.

"Would that be alright?" She asked the boys. Kyouya smiled politely and nodded. Tamaki started jumping around like a rabbit on stimulants.

"Would that be alright?" He exclaimed as he ran over to Haruhi and wrapped her up in his arms, "To get to spend the afternoons with my beloved Haruhi? Oh, what joy!" Haruhi stared as his eyes became unfocused, a clear indication that he had drifted into Inner Theater land. Wresting herself from his grip, she snapped her fingers in front of his face before exhaling a long sigh. She turned back to the girls.

"If it is really that important to you, I'll be there as soon as the Host Club starts back up. Now if you don't mind, we really need to get to class." She gave the girls one of her famous Haruhi smiles, before turning back to her older classmates. Tamaki was still beaming like an idiot, but even Kyouya seemed happy by the development, smiling to himself. Haruhi rolled her eyes and chuckled, assuming that he had calculated some sort of monetary benefit to her remaining in the club.

Then, Kyouya shifted his head slightly; unaware that he had lost the masking effect of the sun's glare. What Haruhi saw in his eyes shocked her as he seemed to look at her with such intensity that her heart stopped. Their eyes met and realizing he'd been caught out, he quickly grabbed on to Tamaki and dragged him to class, just as the bell began to ring.

_Damn_, Kyouya thought, _now we are going to be late._ He walked hurriedly towards the building.

"Kyouya!" Tamaki exclaimed. "Slow down!" Kyouya walked on, angry about being late, and angry that Haruhi had witnessed his stare. It wasn't that he was in love with her or anything. Didn't he just spend his entire spring break working desperately to get his two friends together? He did care for her, deeply. He wanted her to be happy. He knew, however, that visible affection could leave one open to dangerous exploitation and first and foremost he need to protect his friends from that level of attention.

Also there was Tamaki, his best friend. It was inappropriate to develop an attraction to your best friend's girlfriend. More than that, though if asked Kyouya would never admit it, he cared deeply for the idiotic blonde. Tamaki had rescued him from a life of isolation and loneliness and Kyouya could never hurt someone who had given so much. He wanted desperately for his friend to be happy as well.

So, Kyouya had suppressed his growing feelings and devoted himself to ensuring the happiness of his two favorite people. If he felt a certain sadness as he watched his two friends draw closer together, it had to be that he was feeling a bit left out. There couldn't possibly any other explanation.


End file.
